30 Days of Sustainability Launched on Earth Day

Posted by Martin
Filed in Environment
April 23, 2008

30 Days of Sustainability, an annual month long celebration aimed at fostering ideas and values for green living, kicked off on Earth Day yesterday. Now in its third year, the program offers a range of sustainability related events, from work shops and information sessions to sustainable design and art exhibits, all of which run until May 22nd.

Although yesterday's launch, which was held at the Pendulum Room of the HSBC building downtown, was mostly a smooze-fest (an invite only event featuring Mayor Sam Sullivan, TV personalities and a swarm of well-dressed eco-designers all consuming organic wine and cheese), the remaining 29 days promise to be much more entertaining.

Here are just a few of the many events worth checking out in the coming weeks (fancy dress clothes not required):

SWELL Future Friendly Exhibit

Pendulum Gallery - HSBC Building 885 West Georgia St, Vancouver
April 22 - May 10 | Mon-Fri 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Free

If you happen to be downtown, drop by the HSBC building for an exhibition of "future friendly" sustainable design. The collection, which was on display during the launch, includes clothing made from recycled pine fibre (pictured above), bowls constructed with macademia nut shells -- a low value byproduct of the macademia nut industry -- and, coolest of all, the LifeStraw. If you haven't already heard of the LifeStraw, you really have to check it out. It's been nominated for and won numerous awards, including the Saatchi & Saatchi Award for world changing ideas earlier this year.

Evergreen's Earth Day Celebration with 30 Days

Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver | April 26 | 12:00 - 4:00 PM | Free

30 Days has partnered with Emily Carr Institute to bring an interactive sustainable art exhibit to the Earth Day celebrations at Jericho Beach Park. There will be a bunch of other events going on at Jericho as well, including an Eco-Fair, nature tours and live music produced by the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Head to the Evergreen website for more information.

Urban Vegetable Gardening - As Local As It Gets

Strathcona Community Garden, corner of Prior and Hawks, Vancouver | May 4 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Free

One of many Sustainability + Action workshops presented by 30 Days, the lesson in urban vegetable gardening will teach you how to turn your condo balcony into a source for fresh vegetables. Expert gardeners will work with you to understand your outside space (North/South facing sun/shade) and provide key steps and recommended gardening essentials to get started growing successfully just in time for delicious and local summer vegetables.

Sustainability CAFES

Joins others in your community to learn about and discuss a variety of sustainability issues, including how to green your home and office and how to make sure your financial investments are ethical and environmentally responsible.

As I mentioned, these are just a few of the events offered by 30 Days -- check out their website for the full schedule.

Reader Reviews and Comments

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Agree it was a bit of a s(ch)mooze-fest, which is great because it was a party, non? And that buzzing may not have been a swarm of eco-designers but actually just the sound of people enjoying themselves and having a great time. Great food, drink, music and a real interesting mixture of people - business leaders, politicians, green entrepreneurs, activists, teachers, postman, climate change gurus and a Kung Fu legend (not confirmed, just some wild speculation) all in a very cool location - looks like 30 days is on the right track and going mainstream.

Looking forward to catching a few of the events you highlighted above with friends and family (especially my 2.5 year old) in the coming days and weeks. Here's hoping the next 30 days are as much fun as last night. Thx.

Posted by: Stephen Geiger at April 23, 2008 4:39 PM | Quote Comment

I suppose the definition of a good party is going to vary pretty greatly depending on who you're talking to. Sad that I missed the kung fu legend, though. You would think they would have been more noticeable in that crowd, but then again I guess they're trained in subtlety...

Posted by: Ayla at April 24, 2008 9:15 AM | Quote Comment

Agree all around - not everyone is going to have the same idea of what the ideal party would look like, and so, it's important to have a diversity of events that cater to people of all shapes and sizes. Sustainability needs to be integrated in all levels of government, business, NGOs and other sectors. Enough preaching to the converted.

Part of the reasoning for organizing events like the one Tuesday night is to get people who might not otherwise be immersed in thinking about sustainability to have the chance to mingle with the people who are demonstrating what can be done in the community. At the launch, I had the chance to catch up with people from Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC), MOBY community gardens, UBC Farm, Recycling Alternative (who have, I found out, been providing recycling services in Vancouver since the '80s, and handled all the recycling for the event), organizers of Green Drinks, and many more.

The launch aside, there are still 28 days of programs that will be the real focus for providing people with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to start making the changes (the much less glamorous and much more challenging changes like reducing waste and drastically cutting consumption of materials and energy) that will really demonstrate our commitment to sustainability in all aspects of our lives.

Posted by: Shelby at April 24, 2008 3:19 PM | Quote Comment